Two Nevada Horse Trainers Showcase Mustangs at Extreme Mustang Makeover

Reno, Nev.—The skill of two Nevada horse trainers, Matt Replogle of Las Vegas and Tom King of Winnemucca, showed brightly at the second annual Extreme Mustang Makeover in Fort Worth, Texas, Sept. 18-21. Replogle placed second with his saddle-trained horse, Johnny Landers, and King placed fourth overall with his yearling, Brown Derby, but most importantly, both trainers found homes for their horses.

The Mustang Heritage Foundation, in cooperation with the BLM, created the Extreme Mustang Makeover event in order to recognize and highlight the value of mustangs through a national training competition. The purpose of the Extreme Mustang Makeover is to showcase the beauty, versatility and trainability of the rugged horses that roam freely on public lands throughout the West, where they are protected by the BLM under federal law. With 100 days to tame wild to mild, 200 trainers from across America gentled 200 wild Nevada mustangs and compete for $50,000. At the conclusion of the event, the participating mustangs are available for adoption by competitive bid.

Although King participated in the makeover last year, this year was more challenging, since he took on training two mustangs—a saddle-trained horse named Duel in the Sun and a yearling named Brown Derby. “Mission: 007 Yearling Edition,” a new contest with yearling mustangs born in 2007, was added to the competition this year.

“I enjoyed this year as much, if not more, than last year,” said King. “I feel that the horses were better overall and the youth did a great job on their horses. I hope to compete next year in both classes again.”

King adopted Brown Derby and will continue training him, while Duel in the Sun was adopted by an attendee at the event.

Las Vegas trainer Matt Replogle went to extremes by making the trip to the competition almost entirely on horseback. After completing the 1,200-mile journey, Replogle placed second in the Idols Division. Trainers participating in the saddle-trained portion chose the division in which they wanted to compete, based on the ability of the trainer and the mustang. The added purse corresponded with the level of difficulty for the divisions, with the Stars Division at $6,000, the Idols Division at $17,500 and the Legends Division at $25,000.

Replogle found out about the Extreme Mustang Makeover competition when he saw footage of last year’s event on RFD-TV, the nation’s first 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week television network dedicated to rural America which features equine programming. Like King, Replogle had participated in one of the Mustang Heritage Foundation’s regional makeovers, which also involved training a mustang in 100 days.

“I will definitely participate again next year,” said Replogle, “but I think I will only do one of the events, instead of two. I loved how the Texas event was set up, and I had a great time.”

Replogle’s mustang was adopted by some new friends he made along his journey to the competition who had allowed Replogle to stay with them, as they had been considering adopting a mustang after attending last year’s event.

The overall goal of the event—to place all 286 mustangs and yearlings in good homes—was achieved, with the highest bid for a single horse being $5,500.

About the Mustang Heritage Foundation: The mission of the Mustang Heritage Foundation and the goal of the Extreme Mustang Makeover is to increase the adoption of mustangs across the country. The Mustang Heritage Foundation created the Extreme Mustang Makeover event to showcase the recognized value of mustangs through a national training competition.

^{Captions for photos from top to bottom: Matt Replogle jumps his mustang, Johnny Landers and Tom King shows off his yearling, Brown Derby.}

Source: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/info/newsroom/2008/october/two_nevada_horse_trainers.html